This disclosure sets forth a gun rack of a special sort which is a particularly compact, small and easily installed gun rack which does not otherwise require any floor space. It is a special form of gun rack mechanism which can be installed at the back of a closet or in some basement corner so that the gun is relatively obscure, out of sight, elevated above the floor so that small children may not reach it, and is also installed so that the gun cannot be readily removed.
Most gun racks have the form of furniture, i.e. a large box, cabinet or housing which sets on the floor and holds a number of weapons, perhaps six, perhaps ten or even more. Alternately, some gun racks position weapons horizontally on the wall. Typically, two or three guns will be mounted on the wall on pegs or brackets which support the weapons somewhat in visible display. Typically, this will be used in place of a wall decoration. In either case, the structure is somewhat costly and expensive. Even more importantly, the weapons are often accessible to young children. First of all, they can be readily seen upon entry into a room, and more dangerously, they typically are accessible unless a locking device on a cabinet or the like has been installed. The present apparatus sets forth an entirely different type of gun rack. Rather than feature a large cabinet, box or other housing, the gun rack of this disclosure requires no floor space whatsoever. In a real sense, it requires minimal wall space compared to the common or popular wall mounting brackets. This device by contrast anchors very high on the wall, almost at the ceiling. At that elevation, the weapons in the present gun support are safe and secure from short children which normally excludes the possibility that young children can get their hands on the weapon. Even older children, those tall enough, might reach and touch the weapon held in the present apparatus but they will not be able to point the weapon in any direction except straight up because the weapon is mounted in a position pointed at the ceiling, thus not threatening nearby people.
The present device functions as a very safe gun rack for a single weapon which can be easily installed. Installation requires threading a long screw into the supporting structure, preferably threading through the wall and into the wall stud which holds the screw tightly. Moreover, the device also includes means for aligning the weapon when stored on the rack so that the weapon does not point in a direction creating risk to nearby people. The weapon is pointed by a ring looped around the barrel near the end of the rifle or weapon, thereby fixing the location of the weapon. The upper most point is the point of fastening to the wall stud in a room, typically near a corner. The intermediate point includes the ring, and the lower point connects at, near or with the trigger guard and trigger so that the weapon is held where it can be moved slightly, but cannot be moved through an angle for pointing dangerously. Restated, this enables the weapon to be moved for ease of mounting and dismounting by the present storage device but the weapon is held so that it cannot be leveled in the room and used to threaten another person either willfully or accidentally. Even assuming it were loaded and discharged while held in the present apparatus, it would fire at the ceiling at a corner location which would be much safer than other weapon storage devices.
This apparatus, to summarize, includes an elongate screw having a head for fastening with a flexible member. One form of flexible member is chain while an alternate form is flexible metal cable such as woven wire rope of a diameter typically known as aircraft cable. It is anchored to the screw in a connection permitting pivotal movement. The flexible member supports an eyelet which connects with a large ring, preferably a rigid ring, sized to fit about the barrel of the weapon, both a single barrel and a double barrel weapon. Moreover, the flexible cable has substantial length to define a loop or bight near the lower end sized and proportioned to connect with a lock as will be described. Below that loop, there is a terminal portion or length preferably wrapped in a soft plastic sleeve to prevent scarring and scuffing, and also including a terminal end loop. By appropriate routing of the terminal portion, the loops can be aligned so that a lock can be passed through them to fasten the loops with the hasp of the lock. Moreover, this permits the flexible member to be routed along the length of the weapon so that the lower terminal portion passes along one side of the receiver, over and around the stock at the back end of the bolt, under the stock and back through the trigger guard. This enables the lock to connect by fastening the hasp through appropriate loops and indeed even through the trigger guard if desired.